A few weeks ago I went out for dinner with a couple of my old school friends. This blog is not, as you may suspect, about the rekindling old relationships; the pair in question belong to the "some favourite people” category of my life and so I'm pleased to say I have relatively regular contact with them. No, it’s about a car one of my friends was driving.
As a petrol head, engine enthusiast this said friend knows her stuff about cars (having a best friend mechanic is a particularly skill I pride myself on). We laugh - because she is so small the garage tested her ability to haul tyres before giving her the job. But anyway that’s beside the point:
The week that we had decided to eat out coincided with a week’s worth of work related training for my friend. As a result she had been equipped with a company car to meet her transportation needs. So, naturally she drove to our eatery if choice in the company perk.
The car was nice (my non-professional evaluation). Fitting in with the sleek design of sibling models, this German brand doesn't often fail to please aesthetically; it was comfy and it “drove well”.
My friend harnesses genuine passion for the company for which she works, so if you're after more emotive opinion please do not hesitate to get in touch...
But wait, there was more! This car had been fitted with an innovative device that tells the driver when to change gear for the most efficient driving. Cool or what? We were suitably impressed.
This car, marrying together superficial and functional elements that aspire to provide the ultimate drivers’ experience, is surely at the forefront of upward moving developments? We were in a prototype of the future!
Oh, actually maybe we weren’t. This car didn’t have central locking.
"This car starts from £6000!”, defends my friend to this disheartened comment.
"Still. If I was buying a £6000 brand new car I would want central locking”, I retort. I mean come on, my second hand 51 reg plate has central locking!
“You don’t need central locking”
"But you like central locking” chimes my to-become ally. “I thought all new cars had it.”
"£6000!!"
But that's the point; this seemingly random monetary figure had no tangible value to us. What did have value, or significant lack of, was the missing central locking.
And the point of this story? Well it’s this:
In a time where technological advances allow brands to provide increasingly integrated and exponential innovation experiences surely they can’t afford to fail to deliver on the most basic luxuries that we take for granted. By neglecting the basics, that we as consumers understand and regard, are brands not undermining both the pioneering technology and their own image?
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Friday 11 May 2012
The best thing I've done (to date)
I studied at the University of Nottingham. The East Midlands isn’t the University’s only home as Nottingham also has international campuses in Malaysia and China. In the second year of my studies my closest ally headed off to complete the year in China, leaving me with an invite to go over during the Easter break.
Although I’ve always had an interest in traveling, prior to this I’d only ventured as far as Europe and always under the safe umbrella with family or friends (admittedly, the latter was slightly less sturdy). This exotic destination would see me on a lone 24hour trip with 2 transport changes. Also, my part time bar job was not likely to cover the cost of the excursion and so I would need to splurge the savings I’d so frugally amounted. But, weighing up the pros and cons (in hindsight there really were no cons) I committed to my China visit and got stuck into travel plans throughout the first half of the year.
Once there my naïve worries were blown out of the water – my independent trip over had really been that simple and now I was here, wow – well worth every penny. Introduced to the province of Ningbo with a ride on the back of an e-bike to the local town, I realised that the following jam packed three weeks were going to be nothing like I’d experienced before. I clung on to the back of the bike as I watched other bikers ignore the laws of the road and vicariously dodge red lights and larger vehicles; I looked up at towering lights that held impressive Chinese characters and I smelt the food that street vendors were frying in tin cylinders along the path. But China had so much more to offer:
I flew to Beijing and saw Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden city and The Summer Palace; I played games in the park with a local salesman and stood on the stone in The Temple of Heaven that supposedly ensures a direct path to heaven’s gate. I partook in a 4 hour hike across the Great Wall of China (This was the most challenging and unforgettable experience) which ended with a zip wire off over a beautiful lake; I travelled on an overnight train to Xian and took the local bus to the Terracotta warriors (amazing!). I tandem biked along Xian’s city walls, saw the infamous panda and watched an iconic fountain show. I saw acrobats defy the restrictions of human flexibility and got roped into an exercise class as I danced amongst locals in a town square; I was ferried through secret passages whilst shopping in Shanghai, took a boat trip along the Huangpu River and dreamed that one day I would eat at the top of the Oriental Pearl. I ventured up to the top of the World Financial Centre, the world’s 3rd tallest building at 492 meters, and gazed at the rich structural variety below. I embraced traditional Chinese culture and spent hours in a tea house drinking delicate tea and saw how China encompassed the West when I partied in a club. I tasted authentic Chinese food, some delicious, others not; picked up some basic phrases and witnessed the disparities that exist between social classes.
I feel I learnt a lot from this trip. Not only were the cultural deviations fascinating, on a personal level I learnt that great reward is possible when you make the most of opportunities and don’t allow insignificant things to hold you back. Further, I’ve caught the contagious ‘travel bug’ and aspire to add to the experiences I’ve gathered throughout my life. After all, I believe that we live for life’s experiences and it is these that shape us into the people we become.
Although I’ve always had an interest in traveling, prior to this I’d only ventured as far as Europe and always under the safe umbrella with family or friends (admittedly, the latter was slightly less sturdy). This exotic destination would see me on a lone 24hour trip with 2 transport changes. Also, my part time bar job was not likely to cover the cost of the excursion and so I would need to splurge the savings I’d so frugally amounted. But, weighing up the pros and cons (in hindsight there really were no cons) I committed to my China visit and got stuck into travel plans throughout the first half of the year.
Once there my naïve worries were blown out of the water – my independent trip over had really been that simple and now I was here, wow – well worth every penny. Introduced to the province of Ningbo with a ride on the back of an e-bike to the local town, I realised that the following jam packed three weeks were going to be nothing like I’d experienced before. I clung on to the back of the bike as I watched other bikers ignore the laws of the road and vicariously dodge red lights and larger vehicles; I looked up at towering lights that held impressive Chinese characters and I smelt the food that street vendors were frying in tin cylinders along the path. But China had so much more to offer:
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| Generally the street food was tasty... |
 |
| ...But I did not enjoy snails! |
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| Zip wiring from the Great Wall of China; an exhilarating end to a challenging, fantastic experience |
I feel I learnt a lot from this trip. Not only were the cultural deviations fascinating, on a personal level I learnt that great reward is possible when you make the most of opportunities and don’t allow insignificant things to hold you back. Further, I’ve caught the contagious ‘travel bug’ and aspire to add to the experiences I’ve gathered throughout my life. After all, I believe that we live for life’s experiences and it is these that shape us into the people we become.
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| Shanghi's distinctive skyline |
Tuesday 1 May 2012
Why you should hire someone lacking in experience, in the words of Paul Arden
“Experience is built up from solutions to old situations and problems, so old solutions will be bent to fit new problems. The likelihood is that if you’ve got experience you’ll use it. This is lazy. Experience is the opposite of being creative” Paul Arden
Saturday 7 January 2012
A good marketing idea I saw over Christmas
With Christmas having only just left us, I have chosen to share a good idea that I’ve seen employed by a couple of brands over the festive period.
Arguably the run up to Christmas is the most exciting aspect of the season, indeed this is when businesses can cash in on people’s good will and giving.
With the exception of those oversize kids (me included) who still spend the month of December opening the door on their advent calendar, a lot of the build-up hype is lost on those over the age of 10. Weighed down by a lack of time and pressure to impress friends and relatives many see Christmas as a wallet squeezing event.
But I have seen a couple of brands incorporate an advent idea into their marketing campaigns that allow bah-humbugging elders to be included and engaged in the Christmas count down. Their festive frolics rewarded customers with something that was relevant to their needs:
Online print company Moo, who produce an array of personalised collateral including business cards, stickers and postcards, produced their own online advent calendar. Customers were invited, via the Moo blog, to click on the virtual door of the day to reveal some date-restricted content.
The doors uncovered a variety of things including a talk from Richard Moross, Moo founder on ‘Why day dreaming is important in choosing a career’ , links to blogs sharing good festive ideas, such as directions on making edible ornaments, and exclusive Moo offers, valid only for 24 hours.
Glasgow based, family run record label Lucky Me also ran a similar campaign in which a track a day was given away in the run up to Christmas. This idea lead Luck Me to become a feature in Creative Review and in turn the word was spread via print and digital.
Not only do these ideas embrace the Christmas spirit and show a fun- loving and personable side of the company, it gives the company the perfect opportunity to show its customers their valued and entices consumers to make return visits.
Arguably the run up to Christmas is the most exciting aspect of the season, indeed this is when businesses can cash in on people’s good will and giving.
With the exception of those oversize kids (me included) who still spend the month of December opening the door on their advent calendar, a lot of the build-up hype is lost on those over the age of 10. Weighed down by a lack of time and pressure to impress friends and relatives many see Christmas as a wallet squeezing event.
But I have seen a couple of brands incorporate an advent idea into their marketing campaigns that allow bah-humbugging elders to be included and engaged in the Christmas count down. Their festive frolics rewarded customers with something that was relevant to their needs:
Online print company Moo, who produce an array of personalised collateral including business cards, stickers and postcards, produced their own online advent calendar. Customers were invited, via the Moo blog, to click on the virtual door of the day to reveal some date-restricted content.
The doors uncovered a variety of things including a talk from Richard Moross, Moo founder on ‘Why day dreaming is important in choosing a career’ , links to blogs sharing good festive ideas, such as directions on making edible ornaments, and exclusive Moo offers, valid only for 24 hours.
Glasgow based, family run record label Lucky Me also ran a similar campaign in which a track a day was given away in the run up to Christmas. This idea lead Luck Me to become a feature in Creative Review and in turn the word was spread via print and digital.
Not only do these ideas embrace the Christmas spirit and show a fun- loving and personable side of the company, it gives the company the perfect opportunity to show its customers their valued and entices consumers to make return visits.
Sunday 11 December 2011
Something missing from Harvey Nics...
In an attempt to increase its profile within the 18-30's age group, Harvey Nics has launched its Christmas campaign, the "Walk of Shame".
The ad shows a selection of different girls, looking decidedly worse for wear, attempting to make it home after a night on the tiles. It includes some amusing scenarios (my favourite being the girl devouring a kebab at a bus stop whilst receiving a disgruntled look) and clearly expresses the bedraggled feeling so many experience the morning-after the night-before.
After these shots, up pops a screen telling the viewer to 'Avoid the Walk of Shame this season'.
Then we see a flawless beauty (naturally wearing clothes from the Harvey Nichols collection) strut her stuff. She travels down the street beaming with self confidence the other post-party sufferers’ lack, even handling an effortless exchange with the postman.
The message - change your Walk of Shame into a Stride of Pride by wearing amazing clothes.
The Ad has been received well (minus a few remarks on the brand's YouTube page querying the model-like appearance of the final character which questions whether she genuinely represents the average individual) and I have to say that overall I like it –
- The campaign tells an engaging story and uses scenes I believe the majority of the target audience will be able to relate to with varying degrees of self-authenticity. The message is clear and concise, and we’re hearing it!
HOWEVER, something is missing.
Instead of shooting directly to the image of this self assured elegance, I think that the communications would have been much more effective if the model was first shown, at the beginning of her walk, questioning her appearance.
Then as she caught a glimpse of herself in a stray mirror, shop window or car door and stopped to check herself out, the audience would be able to witness the transformation in her character as she concluded from her assessment that she still looked hot!
This way her attitude could be unambiguously attributed to her clothes and not say, her personality.
I feel that this lack of coherent link is a bit like seeing a snowman without a carrot for its nose, or a snow stricken tree without a robin - still great to look at but a little disappointing knowing that it could’ve been that bit more special.
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Sales tips from my encounter with the local tyre salesmen
My tyre had gone flat. I was driving around on my spare and needed a replacement. I needed that replacement put onto my car so I could sport all 4 alloys, and for my spare to be loving returned to its compartment in the boot.
This was what I told the friendly and enthusiastic mechanic in the first garage I ventured into.
He journeyed out of his work shop to gauge the tyres size and asses its (non existent) potential to be repaired, before recommending a (mid range) tyre that would put me back £55. When I asked about the rest of my tyres he assured they were road worthy.
Initially he didn’t provide any further details about the different grades of tyre available but when I enquired he was forthcoming with information about my options. In hindsight I believe this was a positive sales move as it kept the process simple and didn’t compromise the value of the potential purchase.
He thought it was a good buy and I sensed he was genuine. My gut feeling was a positive one; but being bought up to be a savvy shopper and liking to purchase my goods with sound market knowledge, I continued to shop around for prices.
And so, onto the second garage I went.
Unlike at the first, the rugged looking mechanic dragged my tyre off inside his workshop. (Note to salesmen: just because I’ve been lured into your abode, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be pressurised into buying from you).
Once inside he bamboozle me with tyre jargon and threw around branded names like I would understand the different products. I, myself, do not work with cars nor do I have a passion for tyres, so obviously couldn’t differentiate between these brands.
After securing me a quote of £70-odd for my new mid-range tyre he probed “So have you been given a price already”. This is surely never a good sign. It conveys the message of dishonesty and yells “this is not the best quote I could have given you”.
To conclude our conversation he told me, a little too often, that he acted as a wholesaler for all the local garages and warned that if others were telling me they were giving my brand X for price Y, to check that that was in fact the case and I wasn’t being mugged right in front of my eyes –
- What?
Would companies really act so fraudulently? Is this what they did? And why was this man resorting to bad naming his innocent-until-proven-guilty competitors?
This transaction, however, was nothing compared to my third encounter.
Having pulled up onto the car park I walked into the reception and found two men sat behind a counter. Humm, these mechanics aren’t busy doing usual mechanic-like things.
They had seen me and had clearly though “woman, young, easy money” (either that or I really don’t want this business) as, as I outlined my needs he stood up, looked out the window and said; “From here it looks like you need this tyre and it will cost from £74 for a budget tyre to £180 for a top of the range”.
I thought, “you lazy, conning £$*#&*!"
Again the quote comparison question, both parties knowing there was really no need to ask it, and some more try-hard jargon. He then dramatically decreased the price before telling me how useless the tyre at this reduced rate would be.
My man, even if you were to sell me tyre for a fiver there is no way I’d buy anything from you! Not only is your customer service shocking, I find it staggering how someone in your profession could undervalue the importance of running a safe car.
This garage had clearly never heard of word of mouth.
Naturally, in the end I made my purchase from the first garage.
I felt this was an honest, transparent company who had enough confidence in their own service that they didn’t even think to mention their lesser competitors. They expressed an enthusiasm for their trade, shared with me relevant knowledge, and didn’t take me for a fool.
I believe that all sales communications, regardless of the sector of business with which they're involved, should heed to these points. Everyone enjoys doing business with a company that has a conscious, values their custom and treats them with respect.
This was what I told the friendly and enthusiastic mechanic in the first garage I ventured into.
He journeyed out of his work shop to gauge the tyres size and asses its (non existent) potential to be repaired, before recommending a (mid range) tyre that would put me back £55. When I asked about the rest of my tyres he assured they were road worthy.
Initially he didn’t provide any further details about the different grades of tyre available but when I enquired he was forthcoming with information about my options. In hindsight I believe this was a positive sales move as it kept the process simple and didn’t compromise the value of the potential purchase.
He thought it was a good buy and I sensed he was genuine. My gut feeling was a positive one; but being bought up to be a savvy shopper and liking to purchase my goods with sound market knowledge, I continued to shop around for prices.
And so, onto the second garage I went.
Unlike at the first, the rugged looking mechanic dragged my tyre off inside his workshop. (Note to salesmen: just because I’ve been lured into your abode, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be pressurised into buying from you).
Once inside he bamboozle me with tyre jargon and threw around branded names like I would understand the different products. I, myself, do not work with cars nor do I have a passion for tyres, so obviously couldn’t differentiate between these brands.
After securing me a quote of £70-odd for my new mid-range tyre he probed “So have you been given a price already”. This is surely never a good sign. It conveys the message of dishonesty and yells “this is not the best quote I could have given you”.
To conclude our conversation he told me, a little too often, that he acted as a wholesaler for all the local garages and warned that if others were telling me they were giving my brand X for price Y, to check that that was in fact the case and I wasn’t being mugged right in front of my eyes –
- What?
Would companies really act so fraudulently? Is this what they did? And why was this man resorting to bad naming his innocent-until-proven-guilty competitors?
This transaction, however, was nothing compared to my third encounter.
Having pulled up onto the car park I walked into the reception and found two men sat behind a counter. Humm, these mechanics aren’t busy doing usual mechanic-like things.
They had seen me and had clearly though “woman, young, easy money” (either that or I really don’t want this business) as, as I outlined my needs he stood up, looked out the window and said; “From here it looks like you need this tyre and it will cost from £74 for a budget tyre to £180 for a top of the range”.
I thought, “you lazy, conning £$*#&*!"
Again the quote comparison question, both parties knowing there was really no need to ask it, and some more try-hard jargon. He then dramatically decreased the price before telling me how useless the tyre at this reduced rate would be.
My man, even if you were to sell me tyre for a fiver there is no way I’d buy anything from you! Not only is your customer service shocking, I find it staggering how someone in your profession could undervalue the importance of running a safe car.
This garage had clearly never heard of word of mouth.
Naturally, in the end I made my purchase from the first garage.
I felt this was an honest, transparent company who had enough confidence in their own service that they didn’t even think to mention their lesser competitors. They expressed an enthusiasm for their trade, shared with me relevant knowledge, and didn’t take me for a fool.
I believe that all sales communications, regardless of the sector of business with which they're involved, should heed to these points. Everyone enjoys doing business with a company that has a conscious, values their custom and treats them with respect.
Friday 2 December 2011
The people I'd recruit to help to save the world if the end were nigh
So, if the end of the world were nigh I'd recruit the following four people to help establish a new world order:
Recruit 1: Gok Wan (The Motivator)
This man is able to motivate body conscious women into stripping down and flouncing down a catwalk in front of hundreds of strangers - and feel great about it! Gok’s motivational abilities would be invaluable when developing a new world order.
He is also known for adapting his outfits and is able to see potential in otherwise useless material, using it to the best of its ability. This transferable skill would be advantageous if faced with limited resources post ending-event.
Recruit 2: Seth Goddin (The Marketer)
As the master of marketing, Seth Goddin would be able to promote strong relationships between members of the community, and in particular between citizens and leaders. He knows how to keep customers happy and so may be key in preventing future revolt.
Recruit 3: Professor Robert Winston (The Scientist)
Robert Winston’s scientific speciality would allow him to objectively investigate behavioural traits and offer empirical recommendations in running the world order. The insight gained from understanding people cannot be over stated.
He is also medically trained.
Recruit 4: Sir Alan sugar (The Innovator)
As a straight talking entrepreneurial innovator, Alan Sugar may have a lot to offer the world order. He has solid financial understanding and has shown he is able to source out and invest in promising ideas and promising people.
I believe the attributes of this team would allow the dynamics of an evolving neo-community to be truly understood, and so facilitate sustainable development. The hardworking ethos of these individuals would promote a positive and collaborative environment.
Alas, we can all rest assured knowing that, if faced with New Year destruction, everything will work out fine. This leaves only the last minute Christmas shopping and food feast calorie-count to get our blood pressure rising over the festive period.
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